Surprise!
by Norbert's Mom
Summary: Katniss reluctantly agrees to attend a birthday party in her honor.


A/N: I was tagged by the wonderful sothereff in the Everlark Drabble Challenge with the prompt: Everlark surprise.

"Good morning, Katniss." Prim chirps as I shuffle into the kitchen. "Happy birthday!"

"Ug, don't remind me." I grumble, pushing the loose strands from my braid behind my ear. "At least let me get some coffee in my veins before being so cheerful."

"Hey, I can't help it if I want to celebrate my big sister's birthday, even if she doesn't."

Prim jumps out of her seat and motions for me to sit. She places a cup of coffee and some kind of pastry in front of me before I can fully open my eyes.

I mumble a quick "thanks," before taking a sip, relishing how the aroma awakens my senses. It's just what I needed. As I bite into the danish, the blueberry filling is tart on my tongue. I close my eyes and groan at the taste.

"Good, huh?" Prim asks and I nod before taking another bite. "There's a new bakery that opened up down the street. You really need to check it out." I look up to see Prim smirk, knowing my weakness for good pastries. I ignore her as I relish the rest of my blueberry danish.

When I finish, I sit back and wonder how Prim can be so sunny first thing in the morning. She usually stays up studying long after I've given up for the night and gone to bed. We've both got finals coming up in the next few weeks and I know she's been hitting the books harder than ever. Her determination to get into medical school has always been her motivation to get straight A's.

When I finally look back at her, I notice that she's watching me. She's just bursting with excitement, waiting to tell me something, which probably means she made plans to celebrate my birthday, even though I asked her not to.

"So, I know you said no party…" Prim hesitates at my scowl, but then rushes out, "but, I ran into a few of your old friends from school and I asked them to join us for dinner tonight at Sae's." She at least has the decency to look contrite.

"Prim," I can't help the whine in my voice. "It's supposed to be just the two of us. I don't want to be the center of attention to a bunch of people I don't even know anymore."

Prim stands up and grabs my plate before I can even protest, storming over to the sink and practically throwing the dish in. She whips around to face me, her arms folded across her chest, with a scowl of her own. I lower my eyes to my napkin as I begin to tear it into strips. Prim huffs. "Well, you would still know them if you put in any kind of an effort. They're your friends Katniss. You used to hang out with them when they would come home between semesters. So what if they moved away for their jobs after graduating. If you would bother opening a Facebook account or answering your phone when they call, you would see that they still care about you even if you don't care about them."

"What?" My hands still as I look back up at Prim. "I care about them. It's just, you know, they've moved on. They have lives to live that I'm not a part of. I don't want their pity. They don't need to be dragged down by a part time student who may not even have her bachelor's degree before her sister finishes medical school."

"Is that what this is all about?" Prim asks, as she sits back down and takes my hand. "Katniss, nobody pities you. They are amazed by how strong you are, how you took over taking care of me and Mom after Dad died, going to work to help support us. Then when Mom died, you gave up your scholarship to stay home and take care of me." Her eyes are watery as she smiles. "So what if you're only taking a few classes a semester, you're more than half way done. Who knows, maybe we'll graduate at the same time and we can have a double graduation party."

That gets me chuckling as I squeeze Prim's hand. I reach up with my torn napkin and wipe away a tear that fell. "OK, I guess you're right. It would be nice to see my friends from school again, but I'm bringing my friend Johanna from the sporting goods store with me tonight."

Prim looks at her watch and jumps back up, "Oh, I've got to go meet Rue before class," she says as she rushes to the door to the living room. She stops before going through and looks back at me with a smirk on her face, "I may have already invited Jo, too," she says, giggling as she dodges the balled up napkin that I throw at her head.

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When Jo and I arrive, Prim is already there. I was worried she would have talked Sae into decorating the table with balloons or streamers, but it looks just like the rest of the restaurant, except the table that Prim is sitting at with her friend Rue has 3 other tables pushed up against it, leaving room for more people than I anticipated.

After greeting Prim and Rue with a hug and ordering a beer from our server, Prim directs me to sit at the head of the long row of tables. Prim is sitting on my left with Rue next to her. Jo sits on my other side. I can't help but whisper to Prim, "How many people did you invite?"

"Chill out, Brainless," Jo says, obviously overhearing me. "Prim says they're all your friends from school. It's not like she invited strangers."

Before I can protest and ask who all is coming, Sae is leading a group of people toward our table. I can see that Prim not only invited my friends Madge, Annie, and Delly, but they have apparently brought their spouses, as well.

Madge gives me a hug and introduces her husband Gale, who she reminds me, graduated from our same high school, a few years before us.

Before Annie can introduce me to her husband Finnick, he takes my hand and kisses my knuckles, bowing deeply while Annie rolls her eyes. I just laugh as Annie pushes him away so she can give me a hug.

Delly surprises me when she wraps her arms around my shoulders in a big hug, well as big as she can with her very pregnant belly in the way. As she steps back, my smile drops slightly when I see the man behind her is Peeta Mellark. They were best friends since elementary school. I guess it makes sense that they got married. I plaster a smile back on my face as he steps towards me.

"Hey, Katniss, happy birthday." Peeta say softly as his large warm hand engulfs mine. "It's nice to see you again." I look up into those bright, blue eyes that I remember from school, they would always flit away when I would look in his direction.

"You too, Peeta," I say with a small, genuine smile, missing the warmth as he releases my hand.

Peeta turns and rushes to help Delly to her seat, then sits at the end of the table opposite me. When he looks up and sees me watching him, his smile grows wider. I quickly look away only to find Jo watching me with a smirk on her face.

"What?" I ask, taking a quick sip of my beer for something to do.

"Oh, nothing," says Jo as she drinks her own beer. The server appeared at our table, ready to take our dinner orders.

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Dinner conversation is a little difficult with all of us spread out so far apart, but I'm able to catch up with Madge and Annie and I promise to create a Facebook page so we can keep in touch. Delly is way at the other end and I can see that she and Peeta are involved in a conversation with Gale and Finnick. Delly gasps and swats Finnick with her napkin as the others laugh, but then Delly turns to Peeta and says something that has him blushing. I'm curious about what she said that could make her husband blush like that, but when they all suddenly turn and look at me, I quickly avert my eyes and listen to Rue recount a funny story about something that happened in one of her classes.

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After the dishes are cleared away, Sae brings out a beautiful birthday cake and sets it in front of me. "Happy birthday, Girl," she whispers before kissing the top of my head. She walks back up to her hostess stand as I admire the cake. It smells delicious, but I don't know if I can stand to cut into it; it's covered in primroses and katniss flowers, so lifelike that you'd think they were real.

Before I can protest, Prim pushes two candles, in the shape of a two and a three, into the middle of the cake. Jo pulls out a lighter and lights the candles as Prim begins to sing Happy Birthday. Everyone else joins in and I can't help but smile as I look around the table, everyone smiling back at me as they sing. I was such an idiot this morning thinking that they didn't want to be my friend anymore.

When my eyes land on Peeta, I can't help but admire how the fire from the candles dances in his eyes. I quickly look away when I remember that he's with Delly.

When the song ends Prim elbows me in the arm, reminding me to make a wish before blowing out the candles.

I close my eyes and try to think of a wish, but the only thing that crosses my mind is a pair of bright blue eyes and a crooked smile. I know my wish won't really come true, so I don't bother to think of anything more before I open my eyes and blow out the candles.

The server steps forward to cut the cake and she gives me the first piece. I can't help but groan at the explosion of flavor in my mouth. It's the best cake I ever tasted.

"That good huh," Johanna teases as the server places a piece in front of her. I can tell by the look on her face after she tastes it that she agrees with my assessment. "That cake is almost better than an orgasm, Brainless," Jo whispers before taking another bite. I can't help my blush as I elbow her in the arm, chuckling as I nod my head in agreement, before taking another bite of cake myself.

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After several slices of cake for each of us, everyone is ready to call it a night. Madge and Annie both remind me about my promise to open a Facebook account and Prim steps forward to tell them she will help me with it first thing tomorrow morning. I remind her that I work at the bookstore every Saturday morning, but I promise we'll set it up tomorrow after I get home.

When Delly throws her arms around me, I'm ready this time. I apologize that I wasn't able to talk with her and Peeta very much, but I tell her about my planned venture into the land of Facebook and she promises to be waiting for my friend request.

Peeta steps forward and wishes me a good night with a soft kiss on my cheek, telling me he expects a friend request as well.

I blush and wonder how inappropriate that was in front of his wife, but Delly just laughs and grabs Peeta's arm, steering him towards the door, "Come on, Lover Boy. I want to get going. Thom should be home by now." She turns back to me and says, "It was really nice to see you again, Katniss. Don't be a stranger." Peeta looks back at me and smiles sheepishly as they head out the door.

I'm still confused by what happened when Jo gives me a hug and tells me she heading home. After a quick hug from Rue, Prim and I are the only two left. She wraps her arm around my waist and asks me if I'm ready to go. I nod and thank her for a wonderful evening. As soon as we make it back to our apartment, we both head for our own bedrooms. I'm out before my head hits my pillow.

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When my alarm goes off in the morning, I hit snooze a few too many times and I barely have time to catch a shower before heading out the door. I decide to grab a coffee and a cereal bar at the gas station on my way to the bookstore, but as I turn the corner, the new bakery that Prim told me about comes into view. When I open the door, the bell at the top jingles and I'm overwhelmed by the wonderful aroma of fresh bread. I'm so engrossed by looking at all of the breakfast options before me that I don't notice the person waiting at the front counter until I'm standing face to face with him.

"Hey Katniss," Peeta greets me with a smile. "I didn't expect to see you so soon. What can I get for you?"

I'm startled for a moment, unable to form words, but I shake my head to clear my thoughts, "Is this your bakery?"

Peeta runs his hand over the back of his neck and chuckles, "Yep, I named it Mellark's in honor of dad's old bakery from when we were kids."

I hadn't even noticed the name on the awning, but I do remember his father's bakery. My dad used to stop there to bring home sugar cookies for Prim and I before it closed down.

"That great Peeta," I gush. "Prim served blueberry danish from here yesterday for breakfast. It was delicious."

"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. You certainly seemed to enjoy the cake last night too." Peeta says with a smirk.

I blush as I nod, remembering Jo's comment. "I didn't know you made that too."

"Yep, cakes are our specialty, but our breakfast pastries are pretty popular, too. Did you want a couple of blueberry danish again this morning? You looked like you're in a rush when you came in the door."

His statement makes me realize that I have to get going if I'm going to make it to work on time. "Yes please, and a cup of coffee, black."

As he's getting my order ready I can't help but ask, "So does Delly work here too?"

Peeta turns around with a questioning look, "Why would you think Delly works here?"

"Oh, I just remembered that your mom and dad worked together at their old bakery," I explain as I pay for my order, "so I figured it must be beneficial to make it a family business."

Peeta's eyes are still narrowed at me when he says, "Katniss, Delly's my best friend, that's it. She and her husband just moved back home when she got a job as a school teacher at our old elementary school. Her husband Thom found work as a construction worker on that bridge downtown. He works second shift, so he couldn't make it last night."

Peeta chuckles at my stunned expression, "You seriously need to start that Facebook account so you know what's going on. Delly invited me to join her at your party to put Thom at ease. He's paranoid that she's going to go into labor all alone on the side of the road."

My face falls when I realize that Peeta was only there to put his friend's husband's mind at ease. After he told me that he and Delly weren't married, I thought he might have come because he wanted to see me.

"Thanks Peeta," I say as I turn toward the door. I really need to get out of here. I'm going to be late as it is and I'm going to get an earful from my boss, Miss Trinket.

"Hey Katniss," Peeta calls me and I turn back around. His face pales and he blows out a breath. He stares into my eyes, and I feel trapped by his gaze. "Delly may have also invited me because…" He takes another deep breath before he continues. I find myself hanging on his every word. "Because she knows that I used to have a crush on you back in high school. She knew I'd want to see you, but I barely got the chance to talk to you and when I finally did, I froze. You really have no idea the effect you have on me."

I'm stunned, "You used to have a crush on me?" I murmur.

Peeta nods as he moves around the counter to stand in front of me, his gaze never breaking from mine. "I still do," he whispers, "surprise!"

Effie Trinket be damned, I think as I reach up and grab his broad shoulders, pulling him down for a kiss. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him to deepen the kiss. I'm not sure how long we stay like that, but we're interrupted by the jingling of the door behind me. We're both panting when we finally pull away.

The customer seems startled to see our embrace in the middle of the bakery, but Peeta and I both breathe a sigh of relief when he walks over to the display case to peruse the offerings there.

"I've got to go take care of this customer," Peeta whisper in my ear. "Can I see you later?" When I nod, he grabs a business card from the counter and quickly scribbles his phone number on the back. Call me?"

I nod again as I float out the door. I don't even remember entering the book store. I'm 15 minutes late, but Miss Trinket goes easy on me when I offer her one of my blueberry danish.


End file.
